Have writer's block? Hopefully this resource will help librarians identify publishing and presentation opportunities in library & information science, as well as other related fields. I will include calls for papers, presentations, participation, reviewers, and other relevant notices that I find on the web. If you find anything to be posted, please drop me a note. thanks -- Corey Seeman, University of Michigan(cseeman@umich.edu)

Sunday, October 15, 2006

The Jewish Graphic Novel (Collection)

The Jewish Graphic Novel (Collection)Deadline: November 30, 2006

Essays sought for an interdisciplinary collection co-edited by an arthistorian and literary scholar. The growing subgenre of Jewish literaryand graphic culture contains a number of significantly innovativeaesthetic works that are increasingly recognized by literary critics asan exciting form of alternative narrative that may also represent theinception of a new visual literacy that has significant implications forthe future of Jewish literary and artistic expression. As the catalogueof a recent art exhibit devoted to this cultural phenomenon states,"Jewish Graphic novels represent an important genre in artisticexpression and assert the intensity of word and image in conveyingnarratives that speak eloquently to the contemporary viewer. [They]offer intense visual elucidation of Jewish historic and literary eventsby combining intense illustration with searing social issues." Works tobe addressed may include graphic novels by Will Eisner (A Contract WithGod: and Other Tenement Stories, Fagin the Jew, The Plot: The SecretStory of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion) Czech writer VittorioGiardino's trilogy of volumes about Jewish life under the shadow oftotalitarianism: A Jew in Communist Prague: Loss of Innocence, A Jew inCommunist Prague: Adolescence, and A Jew in Communist Prague: Rebellion;Ben Katchor's The Jew of New York; Miriam Katin's memoir of WWIIsurvival, We Are On Our Own; Neil Kleid's portrayal of mobsters inBrownsville; Etgar Keret's surreal tales, Jetlag: Five Graphic Novellas;Joe Kubert's stunning account of the Warsaw ghetto uprising in Yossel:April 14, 1943; Joann Sfar's whimsically philosophical The Rabbi's Cat,James Strum's disturbing parable of American racism, The Golem's MightySwing; and J.T. Waldman's recent bold retelling of the essential Jewishmyth of power and powerlessness in Megillat Esther. The editors alsohope to include an essay or two on the impact of Art Spiegelman'sseminal works of Holocaust oral history in Maus: A Survivor's Tale: MyFather Bleeds History and Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here MyTroubles Began, which crystallized the acceptance of the graphic novelas a legitimate literary form. This collection aspires to fill animportant gap in existing scholarship by offering the first collectionof critical discussions to solely address the way that Jewish graphicnovels grapple with Jewish history, cultural politics, antisemitism,portrayals of Ashkenazi and Sephardic identities, the role of theHolocaust in the artist's cultural and moral imagination, politicalcontroversy, literature, sacred texts, and myth through thesecaptivating works that render image and text in hitherto unimaginedforms. Other essays might consider the important role of autobiographyin the graphic novel and the role of the graphic novel in the JewishStudies classroom. This list is by no means exhaustive; other relevanttheoretical, pedagogical, or cultural approaches will be considered.Authors are encouraged to use images whenever appropriate but they areindividually responsible for all necessary permissions. Papers from alldisciplines, or interdisciplinary submissions (whether focused on singleworks or comparative discussions), are welcomed. Send brief bios alongwith abstracts (300 words) or complete essays that follow the currentedition of the MLA Style Manual to both Ranen Omer-Shermanrosherman@miami.edu and Samantha Baskind s.baskind@csuohio.edu by 11/30/06.